You must have read in magazines or watched TV the exciting underwater adventure. There is an entire world of amazing surprises hidden in the ocean. If you plan to explore and uncover the aquatic wealth, you will need to choose to either snorkel or scuba dive. Both of these adventure activities promise a lot of excitement and fun. But do you know the difference between the two?
Based on your specific needs and preferences, you may find one of the water sports better or more suited than the other. Each of these underwater activities has its pros and cons. Scuba diving requires different kinds of training and equipment than what snorkeling does. Before you choose between the two, you should be fully aware of each of these sports and how one is different from the other. Below, we’ll discuss the pros and cons of each of these in terms of the activity itself, training, equipment, duration, and the techniques involved.
What is Scuba Diving?
Scuba diving is an underwater adventure sport. It allows divers to explore the riches hidden in the depths of the ocean. Before the diver can start to scuba dive, he or she has to put on the proper gear, which includes breathing equipment for easy breathing hundreds or thousands of feet under the water. The equipment functions independently without any surface air supply.
Using this adventure sport, divers can view the fish and corals in the ocean as well as caves and shipwrecks deep down at the bottom. Many people scuba dive as a way of recreation while others get trained in the activity to build a career in fields such as marine biology, military diving, underwater welding, etc. Before you are ready to go scuba diving, you will be required to get enrolled in a course or training program to learn the necessary underwater skills.
Most importantly, you need to master the use of scuba gear including breathing equipment, so that you can navigate the depths of the ocean safely. It is usually done in groups.
What is Snorkeling?
Underwater activity is the practice of swimming or floating along the surface of the ocean or a body of water. While snorkeling, the head and the nose of the swimmer remain submerged in the water. Breathing is done through the breathing tube, referred to as a snorkel.
The activity of snorkeling allows you to enjoy views of coral reefs, fish, and a variety of marine plants. A floatation device is often used to help the swimmer stay afloat and soak up the underwater scenes without much effort. In the absence of such a device, you will need to use a lot of energy to stay afloat. To avoid getting exhausted and keep on snorkeling for the longest duration of time, using a floatation device is essential. This is an adventure sport that is suited to anyone, regardless of whether you know how to swim. However, knowing how to swim is a high recommendation, as it will make the trip underwater a lot more pleasurable.
Training: Scuba Diving vs Snorkeling
Scuba Diving:
It is a serious underwater sports activity. If you desire to enjoy the sport, you must clear an open water course and get certified. There are several scuba schools and training centers. You can get enrolled in a program of your choice and learn how to scuba dive.
Scuba training focuses on first arming students with some essential knowledge. So, you will be studying from a scuba diving textbook or guide to become aware of the basics of the sport. The next section of the training will be dedicated to teaching you the use of scuba gear in a shallow pool. In scuba, the most important thing is to practice the use of the scuba gear properly. After this, the course will require you to clear 4 dives in open water. Once you have learned the basic skills and successfully cleared the open water tests, the scuba school will reward you with a completion certificate, using which you can start scuba diving.
If you are planning to undertake a scuba training program or get enrolled in a refresher course, you should head straight to the Scuba Schools of America. The school is located in Montclair, CA.
Snorkeling:
No specific certification or training is required before you start to snorkel. This is an underwater sport that is done mostly along the surface of the water. So, all you should know is how to swim.
You can still enjoy snorkeling, even if you don’t know how to swim. However, knowing how to swim will keep your confidence level up underwater. Being confident means you will enjoy the activity a lot more. If you lack swimming skills, it is a good idea to get enrolled in a swimming course. Having some general knowledge regarding marine life, underwater currents, and conservation will help you get the most out of the sport and snorkel in a responsible manner.
Difference between Scuba Diving and Snorkeling Equipment
Since scuba and snorkeling are not the same, the difference between their equipment is quite obvious. The complexity of the scuba equipment is miles apart from the simple gear needed to snorkel.
The equipment for scuba diving is both complex and advanced. The gear includes a wet suit or dry suit, oxygen tank, dive mask, SPG, BCG, dive computer, fins, etc. Apart from these main components, divers also need and carry a host of other stuff such as dive knives, underwater lights, a defogger, a dive logbook, and a first-aid kit among others. The list itself reveals how serious the sport of scuba diving is. The entire gear needs to be rechecked properly before diving. Using sophisticated equipment, divers can spend a long time exploring the depths of the ocean without needing to come to the surface for air supply.
A snorkeler’s gear consists of a face mask, snorkel (breathing tube), fins, and a floatation device. Simple as that.
How Old Are You?
It is important to know the difference between scuba diving and snorkeling in terms of age limit requirements as well.
For getting scuba-trained, the minimum age limit set by scuba schools is 10 years. If a child is 10 years old, he or she can go for an Open Water course. The age limit for Junior Open Water certification is 10-15 years. To receive the regular Open Water certification, you should be at least 16 years of age. So, before you or your child starts to learn scuba diving, you should stay informed of the age limit restrictions and follow the guidelines to avoid discrepancies.
Snorkeling doesn’t have any specific age limit. If your kid is as young as 5 years, you can take him or her to snorkel. It is actually the ability to swim which makes a difference in terms of confidence level.
The sites or locations for both scuba diving and snorkeling should be chosen with great care to ensure maximum safety.
Depth and Duration Differences
Snorkeling:
This activity is performed along the surface of the water body or the ocean. The snorkeler cannot go deeper into the ocean, as doing so will submerge the snorkel (breathing tube) and the air supply will stop as a result. If you are a confident swimmer, you can choose to go a little far from the surface and enjoy better views of the corals and fish. This is something that only experienced snorkelers try because they have better underwater breathing skills.
While snorkelers can continue to snorkel for a long time, they need to surface to regain their breath. Compared to normal breathing, it is more difficult to breathe using a snorkel or a breathing tube.
Scuba Diving:
The highly sophisticated scuba gear enables divers to spend much longer underwater. A diver can remain underwater and continue to explore till their gas tank still has oxygen. Several other factors can impact the duration of diving underwater.
How long a diver will be able to stay underwater depends on the total capacity of the oxygen tank he or she is carrying. The depth at which the diver is diving also counts as a critical factor in this regard. The greater the depth, the faster the consumption of oxygen by the diver. It is also possible to carry two oxygen tanks at once to extend the duration of diving underwater.
Scuba Diving or Snorkeling – Which is Better?
Now that you have read about the pros and cons of both scuba diving and snorkeling, you should be in a better position to decide which one is better. As you must have understood by now, each of these sports is great in its sense. There are many common things as well as multiple differences between the two. Which one is better depends on what you are looking for.
Scuba diving is an exciting sport, but it requires prior training and expensive gear to get started. If you plan to explore the ocean deep down and view some of the most unique fish and marine life, you should go scuba diving. However, the sport also has its risks which you need to avoid through proper training, knowledge, and experience. On the other hand, snorkeling is much cheaper and you can get started with this with only a little financial investment. Snorkeling is an excellent way to view corals and fish minus the higher risks. In a nutshell, each of these sports activities caters to different groups of people with different needs.
Find out what exactly you want from your underwater adventure and how much you are willing to spend on training and equipment and then select either scuba or snorkeling as per your specific needs.
Get Trained at the Scuba Schools of America
Are you located in Southern California? If you are, head straight to the Scuba Schools of America to learn about scuba diving vs snorkeling and get certified in scuba diving. The school offers a broad range of courses and training programs to suit the individual needs of aspirants and students.
To find out more, feel free to give our office a phone call or send us an email using the contact form on our website.
